1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container assembly designed to store and transport garbage, waste and/or other types of materials. More in particular, the container assembly of the present invention is structured to store and permit the transport of waste and related objects in a segregated fashion by maintaining a first variety of collected materials on the interior of the container assembly and at least a second variety of collected objects exteriorly thereof, by way of a supplementary support structure mounted on the container assembly so as to move therewith. The supplementary support structure is preferably permanently mounted on the container assembly, and further, so as to be movable between an operative position and a stored position.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of waste collection and management, there has been in recent years an increasing demand for the separation of those objects which are capable of being recycled from other types of domestic waste material which are not capable of being readily recycled. Typically, materials which are recycled demonstrate poor biodegradable characteristics and include glass, plastics, aluminum cans, other products made of metal, etc. Many urban communities now follow recycling programs, wherein individuals are strongly urged or even required to separate these and other types of recyclable materials, such as newspapers, and to store them in separate, recyclable containers or bins, apart from the more general, domestic waste materials which are dumped into conventional garbage or waste containers. Oftentimes, these separate, recyclable bins are readily provided by the community governments to the individuals, and further, in addition to being marked with color or other indicia, are sized to be relatively small and carriable by hand, so that individuals will readily use them in an intended fashion.
Usually, the procedure associated with the collection of domestic waste involves each individual living within an urban community having to physically transport or move his or her garbage cans or other conventional refuse containers, as well as the containers or bins intended for the collection of recyclable materials, to a curb side location or other designated location. Large waste collection vehicles, commonly known as garbage trucks are then scheduled to periodically travel along a given route, and while doing so, pick up the garbage from the various refuse containers disposed at the curb side location.
While such waste collection systems are thought to offer a vast improvement over those of eras gone by, in terms of helping to avoid both disease and pestilence problems associated with rotting garbage, there is still an inconvenience associated with having to transport all of the collected refuse or garbage, including recyclable items, to the curb side or other location for pick up. To alleviate such problems, many conventional types of garbage cans or other refuse containers are structured to be mobile, and therefore, include a wheel assembly designed to movably support the garbage container and its contents as it travels over the ground or other supporting surface. While such known refuse containers alleviate somewhat the inconvenience associated with transporting the collected waste to the curb or other location for disposal, there still remains the problem of having to transport the one or more additional containers used to collect recyclable objects, which are maintained separately from those waste materials not intended to be recycled and which are usually just deposited into a conventional garbage can. Accordingly, an individual living within a community which follows a recycling program is often forced to make at least one additional trip, and perhaps more, to the curb or other garbage pick-up location in order to transport the containers used for the temporary collection of materials intended to be recycled from the initial storage location in his or her home. While it might appear to be a minor inconvenience, as a practical matter the requiring of an individual to make two or three trips for the transport of a plurality of different refuse containers to the curb side or other garbage pick-up location becomes a significant deterrent in accomplishing the consistent collection and segregation of materials which may be recycled from other types of domestic waste or refuse of a general nature.
In recognition of the above described inconvenience associated with transporting to the garbage pick-up location both the general domestic waste materials and those objects intended to be recycled, there have been attempts to design holders or carriers which are specifically structured for the collection of either a variety of non-biodegradable and recyclable materials directly or alternatively, for the storage of the bins which are used to collect such items. Some of these known, specialized refuse containers have also been structured to be mobile, so as to facilitate transport thereof over the ground or like supporting surface. However, even these more specialized carrier devices for recyclable items still require that an individual make more than one trip from his or her home to the garbage pick-up site because of the fact that the conventional garbage containers, wherein the general, non-recyclable waste materials are deposited, must also be transported to the curb of other location for pick-up given that in many communities, trash pick up of both recyclable and non-recyclable waste occurs on the same day.
Another attempt to overcome the inconvenience discussed above includes an “after-market” attachment device, which is designed to be removably secured to a larger, conventional refuse container so as to support the smaller, specialized collection bin provided by the community governments on the larger, conventional garbage container. On the one hand, and assuming that such a device is operative for the intended purpose, only a single trip may be required from the location where garbage and/or the waste bins are stored to the location where the containers are emptied into the waste management vehicles. On the other hand, even this type of device suffers from certain inherent disadvantages which render it somewhat impractical. Specifically, it is believed that the known attachment structures require some adjustment in order to hold or carry a recycling bin, that they also make it difficult to load and unload a bin which is full of recyclable waste, and further, that it is necessary to attach and remove such attachment structures from the conventional refuse container each time a trip is made to or from the curb side location. As such, the known after market, add-on attachment devices do not satisfactorily address the convenience issues discussed above, and therefore, might not be used on a consistent basis. In addition, such after market, attachment devices are not structurally adapted to be mounted on all of the large variety of conventional refuse containers, most of which have a different design, size and/or configuration. Moreover, it is not uncommon for a user to own more than one type of conventional garbage container, with the result that the known, after market, add-on devices would be highly unlikely to be mounted on each of the refuse containers owned by a user.
As a result of the inconveniences associated with the separate collection of a variety of different waste materials, and the fact that devices known in the art fail to adequately overcome those inconveniences, there are many individuals who do not follow the appropriate and intended procedures for separating from general domestic waste material those materials deemed by a community to be easily recycled and worthy of a concentrated recycling program. Consequently, although efforts are underway to cause less harm to the environment by way of recycling selected items, including non-biodegradable waste, these efforts are being impeded by the fact that there remain a few fairly significant inconveniences associated with the collection and disposal of domestic waste, even when it has been separated into recyclable items.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved container assembly which is structured to collect, temporarily store and transport general domestic waste materials, as well as recyclable waste materials collected in at least one recycling bin or a plurality of such bins or other separate recycling containers. Any such improved container assembly should be capable of segregating the general domestic waste from the recyclable waste, and further, of storing and transporting the segregated waste materials both interiorly and exteriorly of the container. Any such improved container assembly should overcome the inconveniences and other disadvantages associated with the segregated collection of recyclable materials, and in particular, should permit an individual to make only a single trip from a point of initial collection and temporary storage of the waste material to a location for disposal or pick-up of such collected waste materials.